Former Bruin shines as Hornet point guard
By Daily Bruin Staff
May 15, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 The Associated Press Charlotte’s Baron
Davis (right) dunks over the Milwaukee Bucks’ Ervin
Johnson.
By Will Whitehorn
Daily Bruin Contributor
The greatest moment in Charlotte Hornets history almost never
happened.
Flashback to Draft Day 1999. Rumors abound that the Los Angeles
Lakers are shopping All-Star forward Glen Rice in an attempt to
move up to the draft’s second pick, with which they would
select UCLA sophomore Baron Davis. The Lakers ultimately pass, and
Davis falls to a relieved Charlotte at number three.
Fast forward to the 2001 NBA Playoffs, and the sixth-seeded
Charlotte Hornets’ stunning sweep of the third-seeded Miami
Heat. The X-factor in the easy series victory, one of the biggest
surprises in NBA playoff history, was the impeccable performance of
guard Baron Davis, whose embarrassment of counterpart Tim Hardaway
was the difference in a matchup of otherwise equally matched
teams.
Davis averaged 20 points and five assists in three blowout wins
over the Heat, fueling an improbable run to the Easter Conference
semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks.
While the Lakers did all right after passing on Davis (winning
an NBA championship, in their defense), Davis’ impact on
Hornet basketball has been a godsend for a team historically
spurned by big name talent. Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, and,
coincidentally, Rice are among the star ballers who have previously
asked out of Carolina.
The Hornets are hoping Davis isn’t also allergic to
bees.
“Baron is really maturing as a player,” Hornets Head
Coach Paul Silas said in a press conference earlier this season.
“He has all the tools to become a very good player. The point
position is possibly the hardest to play in pro basketball and
he’s got a lot to learn, but he’s making great
strides.”
Davis, a Los Angeles native, played high school ball at
Crossroads High School in Santa Monica, where he runs a youth
basketball camp in the off-season. While at Crossroads, he received
national recognition as a McDonald’s All-American, one of
several pre-college accolades. Touted as one of the top prospects
in the country by his graduation, Davis opted to stay at home,
signing his letter of intent with UCLA.
Davis quickly emerged as one of the best point guards in the
nation. As a freshman for the Bruins in 1997, he averaged 16 points
a game and tallied 77 steals, the second highest season total in
school history. His 145 career steals rank tenth in Bruin lore.
Davis was selected as Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, but his season
was cut short in 1998 when he tore his ACL during the NCAA
Tournament.
“Because of his injury, he had to kind of slow his game
down,” Silas recalled. “He really studied the game at
that point and became more of a point guard ““ setting
everything up, making the correct passes and correct
decisions.”
Davis recovered in his sophomore year to snare third-team
All-America honors in 1999. But a forgettable first-round loss to
Detroit Mercy in the Big Dance finished his season and his Bruin
career. After Duke’s Elton Brand and Maryland’s Steve
Francis went 1-2 in the 1999 draft, the Hornets eagerly took Davis,
hoping he would eventually rise as their floor leader.
“We felt we got a player that is a special type of
guy,” Hornets vice-president of basketball operations Bob
Bass told the High Point Enterprise after Davis’ selection.
“We felt there were three players in the draft that fit that
mold, and I think we got a special player in Baron
Davis.”
Davis perfected his game by studying film of perennial all-stars
Jason Kidd and Gary Payton and soliciting advice from perhaps the
best to ever run the hardwood, Magic Johnson. Now regarded as one
of the best young point guards in the game, his name is frequently
uttered in the same breath as Houston’s Francis and
Sacramento’s Jason Williams, generally considered the most
consistent and flashy young points in the league, respectively.
In his first full season as a starter for the Hornets, Davis
blossomed, with the help of some tough love by his Charlotte
teammates.
“Nobody was directing (any criticism) at me, but they made
it clear I have to assert myself,” Davis said. “I think
I’ve started to do that from the point guard position and
come out emotional and supply us with a lot of energy.”
Davis more than doubled his rookie scoring average, from six to
14 points per game. He was third in the league with 170 steals,
11th in the NBA in assists (7.3 per game) and eighth in steals per
game (2.01). He also recorded two triple-doubles this season in
helping Charlotte compile a 46-36 record and gain only their second
ever trip to the semifinals.
“He’s a smart player,” Silas said.
“He’s picked up the offense and he knows
everybody’s position, how the play is supposed to run, and
young players often don’t understand any of that.”
The opposition agrees.
“He’s a terrific young player, extremely
explosive,” said Sacramento Kings Head Coach Rick Adelman
after an early season loss at Charlotte. “If he always plays
like he did tonight, he’ll be mentioned with all the great
guards in the league.”
The Hornets continue to benefit from Davis’ floor
presence, but the prospect of what might have been for the city of
Los Angeles is downright scary. Homegrown star Baron Davis, feeding
Shaquille O’Neal or dumping off to Kobe Bryant? Even the
mighty Lakers have to ponder from time to time what they passed
up.
With reports from The Associated Press.
